Schedium

On February 3, 2024, writer and journalist Steven Beschloss wrote on Substack about his plans to travel to Japan: “I asked last year where in the world you might want to visit, but I’m thinking about it again now. I’m happy to say that this week I get the opportunity to briefly visit the place I have dreamed about for a long time. That’s Japan, including a quick visit to Kyoto and its bamboo forest by way of Tokyo and the bullet train. "As I described last year, I’m drawn to the physical beauty of Japanese gardens and ancient temples. I’m intrigued by the bustling contemporary art scene and the people—and both the hustle and quiet of everyday life. ‘I’m determined to visit.’”   When I read Beschloss’s piece, I thought: “How nice! He gets to travel to Japan, and he seems so enthusiastic about it!” But that's not your reaction if you're a far right ethno-nationalist spreading your ideology at every opportunity. The Substack account Yuri Bezmenov quote-posted Beschloss’s art

Former Trump White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon once vowed to "deconstruct the administrative state", and he may get his way thanks to the Supreme Court's far right majority. The SCOTUS cases Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce could have a huge impact on the power of federal agencies to make and enforce regulations.  Photo by Mr. Kjetil Ree .  Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 The cases challenge a legal doctrine established in the 1984 Supreme Court’s decision in Chevron v. National Resources Defense Council , which requires courts to defer to federal agencies’ interpretations of ambiguous laws, unless they are unreasonable. The so-called “ Chevron deference ” doctrine has enabled agencies to address complex administrative issues without having to wait for Congress to act. However, some conservative judges and critics of the Chevron deference claim that it gives too much power to unelected bureaucrats

On June 25, Greece ’s centre-right party New Democracy (ND) won the country's legislative elections in a landslide, propelling incumbent Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to a second term. ND garnered over 40% of the vote and 158 seats in parliament, while the major opposition party, left-wing Syriza, only received 17% of the vote and 48 seats. The third and fourth largest parties were, respectively, the centre-left Pasok and the far left Communist Party. But what surprised observers was the performance of three far right parties, which received about 12% of the popular vote combined. The largest of them was the " Spartiates " (Spartans), which received 4.63% of the vote and 12 seats, followed by the anti-vax, Orthodox Christian nationalist Party "Niki" (Victory), and the far right Elliniki Lysi (Greek Solution). Spartiates logo, via Wikimedia Commons   The Spartiates are a far right, ethnonationalist party backed by the neo-fascist politician Ilias Kasidiaris

I joined Substack only recently, around the time when the platform launched its Twitter-style feature called Notes . Just as I was starting to warm up to it, I saw on my timeline the following Note from Substack promoting a podcast by the company's co-founder Hamish McKenzie: "In this week’s episode of The Active Voice podcast, @Hamish McKenzie talks to @Richard Hanania about the origins of wokeness, the long reach of civil rights law, and the future of the culture wars." Who is Richard Hanania, you might ask? That's how The Active Voice introduces him : "[A]s the pandemic intensified online tribalism, [Richard Hanania] emerged with a provocative analysis that carried the headline “Why Is Everything Liberal?” The piece, which explores why almost every major institution in the U.S. leans left, did the rounds on Twitter, announcing Richard’s arrival as a distinctive new voice in American politics discourse. "Soon enough, he followed it up with a series of othe

Jamie Dimon, the chairman and chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase, loves Florida.  In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Dimon was asked about the political situation in Florida and its impact on business. The billionaire businessman brushed all concerns aside.  "We love Florida, we’re growing in Florida left and right," he said.  Under its far right Republican leadership, Florida's government has launched an assault on "leftist ideology" . It has stripped Disney of its self-governing district in retaliation for the company's criticism of the "Don't say gay" bill. Instead of fighting back, the mighty corporation has surrendered to the state authorities' bullying tactics.  Recently, Florida's Republican Senator Jason Brodeur introduced a bill that would require bloggers to register with the state government and file periodic reports with the state if they are paid to write posts about the state’s governor, lieutenant governor, cab

Disclaimer: this article contains links to right-wing websites used as sources _____ A victim of Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution has sided with the American far right in its crusade against critical race theory and attempts to "rewrite" US history.  Xi Van Fleet ( Chinese name : 弗里特, pinyin: Fú Lǐtè) is a Chinese-American who grew up in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and experienced the turbulent years of Communist dictator Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution (1966 – 1976). At the age of 26 she moved to the United States.  "I know very, very well what happened during the Cultural Revolution," Xi Van Fleet told the Washington Examiner. "They rewrote history, and then they fed us, the young people, the fictional history, for the indoctrination for control [of] mind." On February 26, Xi Van Fleet draw renewed attention from far right circles when she sparred with 1619 Project [¹] creator Nikole Hannah-Jones on Twitter.  "In Mao's C

During an interview at this year's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) , far right Congressman Scott Perry spread conspiracy theories about a "Marxist" takeover of the United States, denounced "globalization", and issued threats to the left.  A retired Pennsylvania Army National Guard Brigadier General, Perry was elected in November 2021 as chairman of the far right House Freedom Caucus. He is also a member of the Congressional Veterans Caucus and the Second Amendment Caucus.  "Their [the Democrats'] goal is actually the globalization of the United States of America, destruction of our sovereignty and so this is all intentional ... This is all by design ... We're not only in a philosophical battle, but we're also in a spiritual battle for the soul of our country, and to save this Republic," Perry said.  Scott Perry at CPAC, via NowThis News YouTube channel  _____ He then ranted about a supposed takeover of the US by "Marxis